Your Pickens County

COLUMBIA — After making a 20-game winning streak look easy, the Daniel girls’ basketball team was a bit shellshocked in the first quarter of Saturday’s State championship game at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia.
Myrtle Beach, led by highly regarded sophomore Khadijah Sessions, bounced out to a 15-2 lead barely five minutes into the game.
But the Daniel girls kept in mind something that coach Jody Powell had said before taking the court with her team.
“The last thing we said before we came out of the locker room was that we’d fight until the end, and that’s what we did,” Powell said.
The Lady Lions did indeed battle back, eventually taking their first lead of the game with 6:21 remaining in the fourth quarter at 45-44. From there, the two teams traded leads before Daniel’s Sherece Smith hit two clutch free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation to take the game into overtime after two potential Myrtle Beach game-winners missed in the final seconds.
In overtime, the Lady Lions took an early lead on a Carley Hoover layup, but after captains Smith and Anicia Dotson fouled out, Sessions iced the game for the Seahawks with three free throws in the final 30 seconds.
“My kids fought to the end,” Powell said. “They stayed in it. They should be proud of what they did, and I feel great that we were able to compete for the state championship.”

NORRIS — Being a husband, a father of five and a full-time student at Southern Wesleyan University, Chris Vann has a lot of responsibilities.
Now, Vann has a new responsibility — athletic director for the town of Norris.
Falling in love with the Upstate after visiting for a wedding, the Vanns decided four years ago to relocate from their home in Jacksonville, Fla., to Liberty. He turned to Southern Wesleyan University to pursue his new career goal of becoming certified as a physical education teacher. Vann is majoring in physical education with a minor in athletic coaching. After graduating from Southern Wesleyan, Vann hopes to pursue a master’s degree in physical education.
“I graduated from Florida State in 2001 and worked all over Florida, but I always felt that working with kids and teaching sports was what I wanted to do,” Vann said. To have a university close to home that offers the ideal degree program for him was a factor in his choosing Southern Wesleyan.
“From what I heard, Southern Wesleyan University has great reputation, quality education and is well-prepared and nationally recognized, so I decided to come here,” Vann said.
“My wife and I have played sports our whole lives and I’ve been coaching for about five years,” he said. Vann has experience coaching t-ball, football and basketball. A friend of Vann’s, who is the fire chief of Norris and Liberty, recently contacted him about the opening for a recreation director.
“They asked me about it, I got my resumé, and the mayor decided to hire me as the new recreation director,” Vann said.
Vann is excited about what the new recreation program can provide for Norris and the surrounding communities of Cateechee, Six Mile and Central. With enough youngsters signed up, Vann’s goal is to have a quality youth baseball team as part of the town’s recreation program. But Vann understands that there is more involved than just learning the rules of the game.
“Our goal is to put kids first, to help them understand sports and to have fun,” Vann said. “I want our kids to play sports because they want to, not because they are forced by their parents.”
Vann added that another challenge is to keep the young ball players motivated during the one to two hours they spend on the field.
“SWU really assists me in understanding about the focus of coaching, and how to motivate kids in a better way,” Vann said.

EASLEY — The upstate lost one of it true community leaders last week with the passing of former Tri-County Technical College President Dr. Don C. Garrison.
Garrison was President of Tri-County in Pendleton from November 1971 through June 2003. In 2002, the Tri-County Technical College Commission recognized Garrison by naming the Pendleton campus in his honor.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Dr. Don C. Garrison, who passed away during the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 27,” said Dr. Ronnie Booth, currnt TCTC president. “Throughout his 32 years as president of Tri-County, he served as a tireless leader and advocate for technical education in this region and the state. He had a profound impact on the lives of thousands of students and the communities we serve.”
Garrison is survived by his wife, Carol Smith Garrison, one son, Major Donnie R. Garrison and his wife, Cheryl and grandsons, Bolt and Bryant Garrison, of Easley, as well as his mother, Vera M. Garrison of Pickens, two brothers, David Garrison and wife, Ruth, of Pickens and Dan Garrison and wife Linda of Easley. 
Born in Liberty, he was the son of Vera Medlock Garrison of Liberty and the late Ernest Casper Garrison. In addition to his father, Garrison was predeceased by his niece, Lynn Garrison, of Pickens.
He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Furman University and Doctorate from Duke University.
In his early years in education, Garrison was head coach at Palmetto High School, assistant football coach at Pendleton High and Easley High. He also served as Interim President, Vice President, Dean of Allied Health Sciences, and Evening Dean at Greenville Technical College from 1963-1971.
Garrison was President of the Aerospace Education Foundation (AEF), Washington, D.C., from 1981-1984. He was named as a Gen. Jimmy Doolittle Fellow and a Lt. Gen. Ira Eaker Fellow for his service to AEF. His many state and national honors included the Air Force Association’s Medal of Merit in 1984. He established the first memorial in SC to those who served in the Vietnam war, served as Chairman of the Board of the S.C. Military Family Care Association, and was active with the 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command Family Readiness Group in Anderson..
He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto and the Order of the Silver Crescent by the Governor of South Carolina. He received the A. Wade Martin Award from the SC State Board for Technical Education and the Marie Y. Martin Administrators Award and the President of the Year Award by the American Association of Community College Trustees.
“Dr. Garrison was a great community leader,” S.C. State Representative Davey Hiott said. “He was a great leader at Tri-County Tech and in Pickens County. He was a great family man and great Christian. He will be missed.”
“I first encountered Dr. Garrison as a student at Tri-County Technical College in the mid 1970s,” State Senator Larry Martin said. “He was just beginning what would become an outstanding tenure as president of the college and as a leader of the technical college system in South Carolina. Over the years, I witnessed firsthand the tremendous dedication and strong passion he had for the development of the college. 
“Don’s primary objective was not to construct buildings but to provide a world-class educational opportunity for the students that attended Tri-County. He succeeded in making Tri-County Technical College one of the best two-year institutions in the nation, and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his life’s commitment and hard work on behalf of our community and state. Importantly, Don’s faith was important to him, and he lived out his Christian faith everyday through his devotion to his family, his church, and to Tri-County Technical College. Our hearts are saddened by his death and our prayers are with his wonderful family.”
“His rallying cry was ‘Jobs for People and People for Jobs,’” Booth said. “He passionately promoted the South Carolina Technical College System as the key to economic prosperity for the region and the state. He dedicated his life to developing an institution that provided top-quality training for local companies and an affordable education to those in need of job skills or the first two years of a baccalaureate degree.
“In his final commencement speech in 2003, Dr. Garrison told the graduates, ‘The key to success in life is attaching yourself to a cause that is greater than yourself.’ That’s exactly what Dr. Garrison did — he ‘walked the talk’ and devoted his life and career to the cause of providing accessible, affordable, relevant, and quality educational options for the residents of Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties.
“When Dr. Garrison retired, he said, ‘I truly believe that Tri-County Technical College’s best days are yet to come.’ That may be true, but it never would have been possible without the solid foundation he laid for us. Above all, I believe Dr. Garrison will be remembered for his larger-than-life personality and passion. Don took over a room when he entered it and didn’t leave until everyone there understood the value of technical colleges and the integral role they play in the economic development and prosperity of the state.
“On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students of Tri-County Technical College, I extend our deepest condolences to the Garrison family. Don was an inspiration to us all and an unforgettable leader. He will truly be missed.”

The Daniel High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams both sealed a trip to this Saturday’s state championship games in Columbia with wins last weekend over Lower Richland in the upperstate title games at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville. Above, Lady Lions head coach Jody Powell raises her arms triumphantly at the final buzzer as her players begin celebrations after the Daniel girls’ 59-46 win Saturday. At right, Daniel junior Antonio Cannon points to the stands as he leaves the court following the Lions’ 70-56 victory in the boys’ upperstate matchup. For more, turn to page 6A.

COUNTY — According to the Pickens County Sherriff’s Office, two inmates who escaped from the Pickens County prison on February 5 have been captured.
Authorities said Jimmy Cannon, 49, of 780 Cannon Road in Salem, was recaptured in Oconee County on Feb. 21 during a routine traffic stop. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Pickens County prison after Cannon’s outstanding warrant appeared in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer. The Pickens County prison verified information on the NCIC, and Cannon was transported back to Pickens County.
He is currently being held at the Pickens County Detention Center awaiting a hearing.
Ralph Eugene Ridley, 40, of 210 Cabin Road in Highlands, N.C., was apprehended in Grenada, Miss., on the evening of Monday, March 1. Ridley attempted to flee but was quickly arrested by Mississippi law enforcement officials. After his arrest, information located in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) was verified between the Grenada Law Enforcement Officials and the Pickens County prison.
Ridley is currently being held at a detention facility in Mississippi awaiting an extradition hearing prior to being returned to South Carolina.
The Courier reported in its Feb. 10 edition that detention officers discovered that Ridley did not show up for kitchen work detail at 6 a.m. on Saturday. Feb. 6. The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office was immediately notified of the escape. A head count was taken, and officers then discovered that Cannon was also missing.
Both Ridley and Cannon were serving time from family court for non-support.